COPING WITH RETIREMENT FROM SPORT - THE INFLUENCE OF ATHLETIC IDENTITY

Competitive athletes are confronted with a number of adjustments durin g the career transition process. In the present study, 48 former elite -level athletes supplied information about their financial, occupation al, emotional, and social adjustment to retirement from sport. Athleti c identity at the time of retirement was also assessed, along with sel f-reported use of various coping strategies and the perceived quality of adjustment to retirement. Results indicated that acceptance, positi ve reinterpretation, planning, and active coping were the most frequen tly used coping strategies during the career transition process. At th e same time, athletic identity at the time of retirement exhibited sig nificant relationships to coping processes, emotional and social adjus tment, pre-retirement planning, and anxiety about career decision-maki ng. Implications for career transition programs are discussed, along w ith suggestions for future research.